KIELLAND-NETTVERKET

OLDER NEWS

New delays and new betrayal from the Labour government

May 15th 2026

The Kielland Network did not expect a miracle to appear in the revised national budget, and had prepared their members for that. Then nothing came.

The Board ask their members to ignore what is being written about a “possible compensation scheme, etc.” It is only provoking, and it will not remain like that. The Network’s supporters—that is, the parties other than Labour—will bring forward their overruling of the government, but it is doubtful that they will manage to get any parliamentary decision in place before the autumn.

MEMORIAL AT BROKEN LINK

27th of March 2026

Vi som mistet våre kjære har ventet i 46 år på sannhet, forsoning og rettferdighet. For noen av oss er det vårt hele liv.
♡We who lost our loved ones have waited 46 years for truth, reconciliation and justice. For some of us, it's our entire lives.

Så mye smerte som ble påført foreldrer, enker og barn. Alt på grunn av grådighet og det viste seg at penger var viktigere enn menneskeliv. Over 400 barn ble berørt.
♡So much pain inflicted on parents, widows and children. All because of greed and it turned out that money was more important than human life. Over 400 children were affected.

I vårt samfunn i dag er det umulig å forstå, at når skaden hadde skjedd, fikk berørte ingen hjelp. Faktisk ALDRI i de 46 årene som har gått.
♡In our society today, it is impossible to understand that once the damage had occurred, those affected received no help. In fact, NEVER in the 46 years that have passed.

Noen ble truet med å miste jobben sin, noen ble truet med penger for å unngå søksmål...
♡Some were threatened with losing their jobs, some were threatened with money to avoid lawsuits...

På burdagen min i fjor, 5.juni skjedde et mirakkel, etter mer enn 45 år etter katastrofen bestemte Stortinget seg for å betale overlevende og etterlatte compensasjon.
♡On my birthday last year, June 5th, a miracle happened. More than 45 years after the disaster, the Storting decided to pay compensation to survivors and bereaved families.

Det var for godt til å være sant.... og nå 10 måneder senere er Stortinget ikke enig om beløp og prøver det største politiske partiet AP å betale ut så lite som mulig.
♡It was too good to be true.... and now 10 months later the Storting cannot agree on the amount and the largest political party, the Labor Party, is trying to pay out as little as possible.

Norge er en av rikeste nasjonen i hele verden og takket være mannskapet ombord på Kielland ble Norge rik oljenasjon.
♡Norway is one of the richest nations in the world and thanks to the crew aboard the Kielland, Norway became a rich oil nation.

På grunn av at Norge skjulte årsakene til katastrofen, fortsatte de å få oppgaver på Nordsjøen.
♡Because Norway concealed the causes of the disaster, they continued to receive assignments in the North Sea.

Penger kan ikke måles med et liv, men det kan være plaster på såret...
♡Money can't be measured by a life, but it can be a band-aid on the wound...

Vi krysser fingrene at våre fedrer, sønner og barnebarn får et verdig oppgjør og at vi endelig kan slutte å kjempe om deres verdighet.
♡We cross our fingers that our fathers, sons and grandsons receive a dignified settlement and that we can finally stop fighting for their dignity.

Jeg må innrømme at det tærer på, samtidig som det føles bra å kunne bidra. Jeg er nå 23 år eldre enn pabba ble og skulle ønske at han og de 211, som var ombord den skjebnedagen fikk en verdig avslutning.
♡I must admit that it takes its toll, but it feels good to be able to contribute. I am now 23 years older than my dad was and I wish that he and the 211, who were on board that fateful day get a dignified end.

Jeg er utrolig takknemlig for å ha blitt kjent med dere.
♡I am incredibly grateful to have met you.

Dere som har gått igjennom det samme helvete som jeg.
♡Those who have gone through the same hell as me.

Dere som forstår smerten og ønsker og ønsker så sårt at få dette kapitellet stengt så godt som det er mulig.
♡Those who understand the pain and want and desire so badly to have this chapter closed as best as possible.

Vi er venner for livet.
♡We are friends for life.

Til slutt ønsker jeg å minnest overlevende og etterlatte som kjempet for rettferdighet i lag med oss men har gått bort i det siste.
♡Finally, I would like to remember the survivors and bereaved who have fought for justice alongside us but have passed away recently.

En av dem er enken Lynne Walker, som etterlater seg tre barn. Lynnes begravelse er i dag, samme dag som mannen hennes mistet livet for 46 år siden.
♡One of them is the widow Lynne Walker who leaves behind 3 children. Lynne's funeral is today, the same day as her husband lost his live 46 years ago.

Dere vil alltid være i våre hjerter.
♡You will always be in our hearts.

JOINT SUPPORT FROM

FIVE TRADE UNIONS

"Fellesforbundet", Styrke, Safe, Lederne and NITO together represent nearly 400,000 employees, and a large proportion of them work in the petroleum sector. Justice in the Kielland case is of essential importance to all five trade unions, and they have therefore united behind the attached joint statement.

Adressed to

The Energy Department

On copy to

The Prime Minister’s Office, all party leaders in the Storting,

and the members of the Labour and Social Affairs Committee.

18th of March 2026

We call for justice for the Kielland victims

Our trade unions represent nearly 400,000 members, and we have been actively involved in the settlement after the Alexander L. Kielland disaster, including by participating in the hearing in the Storting’s Labour and Social Affairs Committee.

We are deeply committed to workers’ rights, and the consideration of health, environment and safety (HSE) is of paramount importance to us and our members. The Kielland disaster, as Norway’s largest industrial accident, is an important reminder of the significance of sound regulations and effective follow-up of HSE. The repeated acknowledgements that lessons were learned from this tragedy, and that rules and procedures were tightened and improved in the aftermath of the accident, are a confirmation that the situation was inadequate. Some paid far too high a price for this learning, and now it is time to make amends. Therefore, we appeal to the government to do so in a fair and dignified manner.

In total, 212 families were marked for life that day. 123 lost a father, husband, son or brother. 89 survived, many with severe trauma, and none received follow‑up from the public authorities.

We are aware that the Kielland Network on 4 March 2026 sent a letter to the government, addressed to the Minister of Energy, and we have seen a copy of the letter. We believe the Kielland Network summarizes three central aspects of this national tragedy, and that the government should take these into account when it presents its proposal for a special compensation scheme for the Kielland victims before the end of March:

1. That it is solidly documented, including by the Office of the Auditor General, that there were serious weaknesses in the authorities’ regulations, control and follow-up, which may have contributed to the fact that the accident could occur and to the severity it reached. Likewise, it is well documented that the authorities did not take care of those affected by the accident, and it is a fact that no form of state compensation has ever been paid to the victims.
   
   

2. We also agree with what the Kielland Network writes about justice and equal treatment, and in this context we refer to the principles in Article 98 of the Constitution. The referenceto the compensation granted to the North Sea divers is, in our view, highly relevant. Given the scale of the Kielland catastrophe, we see no reasonable grounds for the settlement in this case to be lower than the level granted to the North Sea divers.
   
   

3. The Kielland disaster is, by virtue of its background, sequence of events, and the dramatic and lifelong consequences it had for 212 families, truly unique. When this is combined with documented government failure both before and after the accident, the case becomes even more exceptional—and thus poorly suited as a precedent for other types of future settlements.

History has shown, and the Office of the Auditor General has concluded on two occasions, that the authorities neglected their responsibilities both before the accident and in its aftermath. It makes a strong impression on us that exemptions were granted that compromised considerations of health, environment and safety, and that the rig turned out not to be approved as a living quarters platform. It is also difficult to acknowledge that the authorities, despite recommendations from professional bodies at the time, to a very limited extent cared for and followed up on the bereaved and the survivors after the catastrophe.

We support the Kielland Network and ask the government to base the compensation level of the special compensation scheme for the Kielland victims on the level granted to the North Sea divers. That is the least we, as a society, can do to correct some of the injustice committed against those who sacrificed life and health for the country’s oil wealth.

Sincerely,

TO PRIME MINISTER JONAS GAHR STØRE

My name is Anders Helliksen. I survived the Alexander L. Kielland disaster on March 27TH, 1980, and I am currently the chair of the Kielland Network. I took over the position after Kian Reme, who passed away in the summer of 2024.

I am now requesting a meeting with you as soon as possible

It is difficult to comprehend why the Labour Party leadership does not want to bring this matter to a conclusion, so that together we can achieve justice and reconciliation after 46 years.

We now request a meeting to explain more about what really happened and what we expect, on behalf of all survivors and the bereaved families of the 212 young men who were on Kielland when it capsized.

A total of 123 lost their lives, and between 300 and 400 children lost their father. We, the 89 who barely survived, were all marked for life. None of us received help to process the trauma – not the survivors, not the children, not the widows, and not the parents. The Government refused, even though a number of professionals stood ready the day after the disaster to travel out and provide crisis support to those affected. Many families were completely devastated in the aftermath.

Now they are passing away; we receive notices of deaths almost every week. After 46 painful years, many did not live long enough to experience fair compensation—something that could finally have given them the financial means to seek help. So this is urgent for everyone who is still alive and waiting.

In 2024, the Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies (NKVTS) concluded in its report that the Kielland victims still today have poorer health and quality of life than the rest of the population.

The Kielland catastrophe happened on the Labour Party’s watch. One of the most devastating things for our members to learn is that Kielland was never approved as living quarters. Had I known that myself, I would never have gone out there. Veritas, working on behalf of the Norwegian Maritime Authority, never ensured that the necessary approval was obtained.

And in a 2023 meeting with the National Criminal Investigation Service (Kripos) and the Gades Institute regarding the identification of the deceased (together with Kian Reme), we were given the death report from Kripos. It states “assumed correctly identified” for all, and that all had “cause of death: drowning.” Even those whom I and other survivors saw die on deck. None were autopsied. And the report contains incorrect dates for when the deceased returned home in coffins. This has led many of our members to doubt whether they have the correct father in the grave. Dear Prime Minister, if only you knew how much grief and additional burden this negligence has inflicted on our members.

The examples I have mentioned here are only two of a long series of failures by the state — before, during, and after the catastrophe. We call Kielland a catastrophe, not an accident. Because it could have been avoided. Experts who have studied Kielland even describe it as a “forewarned catastrophe.”

Prominent jurists, such as Eva Joly, have described our case as 123 counts of negligent homicide. Because the state could have ensured that it never happened.

I must also emphasize that the Kielland case in the Storting is something entirely different from the case involving the Oil Pioneers, which is also ongoing. Kielland was a structural failure and capsizing, while the Oil Pioneers’ case concerns occupational injury. Although we of course support the Oil Pioneers in their fight.

If you have heard anyone claim that the Kielland victims have already received compensation, this is not true. Not a single krone from the state. There were some “blood money” payments from Phillips shortly afterward, where individuals were pressured to sign an agreement never to take legal action against Phillips or its subcontractors. Those of us who survived received a mere 25,000 NOK. The widows had lost their provider and felt pressured to accept; they needed to survive. Private life insurance payouts and similar were, of course, paid to the widows.

I expect, as I am sure you understand, to be granted a meeting before your government presents a proposal concerning our fate — on behalf of all of us who are victims of Norway’s largest peacetime catastrophe. We simply cannot understand why the Labour Party is now the only party that does not support giving us fair redress, when it was precisely the Labour Party that held responsibility at the time. All your minister, the Minister of Energy, could answer when we asked that question was: “NO COMMENT.”

I look forward to hearing from you, dear Prime Minister!

Kind regards,

Anders Helliksen

Chair of the Kielland Network / Survivor

28th of January 2026

NO THE STATE'S RESONSIBILITY?

If you drive a car that hasn’t been registered by the road authorities (=the government) and you run over a person who dies, that’s negligent homicide.

If you send 212 oil workers out to a living quarters platform that the authorities have not approved as living quarters, and the platform collapses and 123 are killed—then surely you are responsible for 123 negligent homicides?

Yet this had no consequences for the Labour Party, which governed when this horror actually happened with the living quarters platform Alexander Kiellandon March 27th, 1980.

and of course we expected that the lack of approval would be mentioned in the conclusion this time. So that the politicians could finally have it served on a silver platter: There should never have been people out on Kielland on March 27th, 1980, because the platform was not approved! 123 young fathers, husbands, and sons should never have been exposed to negligent homicide! And we 89 who barely survived—we would never have gone out there if we had known about the lack of approval, which was indisputably the state’s responsibility! And the state’s responsibility to clean up!

The Auditor General maintained that the state did not have the main responsibility for the Kielland “accident.” But to include in the conclusion that the state had overarching responsibility for sending 212 men into death and eternal nightmares—that apparently isn’t considered a big enough part of the state’s responsibility?

Now Parliament will soon decide: Will the Kielland victims finally receive decent and fair compensation for all those who were killed and for us survivors whose lives have been severely damaged?

The North Sea divers and war veterans received compensation of 65G, and this constitutes legal precedent for the Kielland victims to also be compensated with 65G.

Anders Helliksen

Chairman of the Kielland Network and survivor.

19. desember 2025

PRESS RELEASE

from the  Kielland-Network

Our case has been strengthened after the Office of the Auditor General’s new investigation

Our case has been strengthened after the Office of the Auditor General today presented its new investigation into the authorities’ responsibility in connection with the Alexander L. Kielland disaster, says Anders Helliksen, chairman of the Kielland Network and a survivor of the accident.

The Office of the Auditor General today maintains its serious criticism of the authorities from the comprehensive investigation it presented in 2021. In its new report, the Auditor General concludes that there were serious weaknesses in how the authorities fulfilled their responsibilities before the accident. The Kielland Network particularly notes that the Auditor General writes that these weaknesses on the part of the authorities “may have contributed to the accident occurring and to the consequences of the accident being as severe as they were.”

survivors and bereaved after Norway’s largest industrial disaster. The investigation was carried out under the auspices of the Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies (NKVTS) and was presented in 2024. It concluded: “Those affected by the Kielland disaster struggle with disproportionately high health problems and lower quality of life compared to the general population. Particularly among the survivors, many have had a difficult time and continue to struggle.”

It is the 89 survivors and the widows and children of the 123 who lost their lives that we are fighting for.

Although the authorities may not have had the main responsibility for the accident, it is well documented that they had significant responsibility for several matters where neglect and weaknesses on the part of the authorities have been identified. It should make an impression on any responsible politician that these failures may have contributed to the accident occurring and to the tragic extent it reached, states Anders Helliksen.

On October 14th this year, all parties in Parliament, except the Labour Party, voted to ask the government to present a proposal for a compensation scheme for victims and bereaved families of the Kielland disaster by March 2026. This is to follow up on the decision made by the previous Parliament on June 5th this year regarding a special compensation scheme for the survivors and bereaved after the Kielland tragedy.

“We now look forward to the government’s proposal and assume that a life is a life, and that we will receive compensation equivalent to 65 G, as the North Sea divers once did after an unnecessarily long and undignified process,” says Helliksen.

16th of December 2025

Now compensation will be paid in 2026

The Kielland network and their members rejoice

Our demand is 65G for everyone who was on board when the disaster occurred, which is the same as what the North Sea divers received. Our lawyers, SANDS Law Firm, believe that this creates a so-called precedent.

We quote Leif Monsen, who is a senior advisor at First House and works closely with the Kielland network and SANDS Law Firm.

"123 men lost their lives on this stormy and dark evening on the Ekofisk field in the North Sea, on 27 March 1980. 89 survived under dramatic circumstances, most of them scarred for life. One of them is Anders Helliksen, who is making an outstanding effort as head of the Kielland network.

After both the Norwegian National Audit Office and researchers at the University of Oslo have demonstrated how the authorities failed in handling this accident, it is now high time that injustice becomes justice, as the Kielland network has worked for. The victims are starting to get old. Only since the Storting decision on 5th June this year, six survivors and widows have passed away. Therefore, it is strongly overdue that society makes amends for those who sacrificed their lives and health for the country's oil wealth.

The Labour Party has no honourable history in this matter. They have failed all the way from the Nordli government's negligence to today's vote in the Storting, where they were left alone.

 Now it will not be necessary for the victims to wait until the 2027 state budget, as the government planned after the Storting decision in June. Thanks to good forces in the Storting, the government must now promote the compensation scheme by March 2026. Then it is important that the scheme is at the same level as what the North Sea divers received after a lengthy and undignified process. That is, compensation equivalent to 65 G for each of the 212 who were on board the rig when the accident occurred."

14th of October 2025

Labor Party to postpone compensation until 2027

The Kielland network with Anders Hellikssen at the forefront is very

disappointed with the Government/Labor Party!

Of course, we wish the Oil Pioneers would receive their compensation right after the New Year; but that our people have to wait even longer… until the 2027 state budget, is like nothing!

The Kielland disaster was a predicted disaster, and is solely the responsibility of the Labour Party; everything happened on their watch. The platform wasn't even approved as a residential quarter! All archives were classified (kept secret) for 40 years by the Labour Party; which deprived all of us victims of the right to a trial, since the case was time-barred. This is a clear violation of human rights.

10th of October 2025

Press Release from Six Labor Organizations – June 1, 2025

The Kielland victims must receive their rightful compensation – 45 years is enough!

It has been over 45 years since the accommodation rig Alexander L. Kielland capsized at the Ekofisk field in the North Sea on March 27, 1980. 123 people lost their lives, and 89 survived under dramatic circumstances, marked for life.

Six labor organizations are behind this press release. Together, we represent nearly 440,000 members. A large proportion of these work within the oil industry or in connection with this industry. We support the Kielland victims in their demand for rightful compensation from the state. We also refer to hearing statements and joint letters to the Labor and Social Affairs Committee sent on May 12, 2025.

We also note that the Labour Party and the Conservative Party will not support a compensation scheme at this time. It is disappointing; we had really hoped that the entire Storting could stand behind support for the Kielland victims. But it is not too late to change, and we hope that individual representatives from these parties will be given the freedom to vote with both their heads and hearts in this matter.

Many of the Storting's representatives come from municipalities that were strongly affected by the Kielland disaster. They should listen extra carefully to the joint statement from 13 coastal municipalities that were particularly hard hit by Norway's largest industrial accident. The 13 municipalities together represent 70 of the families who lost their loved ones on March 27, 1980. Give them and the other Kielland families a voice on June 5, 2025!

Sincerely: NITO - Norwegian Engineers and Technologists Organization, Safe Union, Fellesforbundet, Strength Union, EL & IT Union, and the Leaders Union.

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE KIELLAND NETWORK 28.05.2025

Breakthrough for Kielland Victims

Everything indicates that there is now a majority in the Norwegian Parliament to provide compensation to the survivors and bereaved families of the Alexander L. Kielland disaster. The following parties and individuals appear to support the compensation proposal: Rødt, SV, MDG, KrF, FrP, Sp, Venstre, Pasientfokus, and Christian Tybring-Gjedde.

The case will be discussed in the Norwegian Parliament in plenary session on June 5th, and with Venstre's support today, the majority seems secured.

• "We have worked for many years for truth, justice, and reconciliation, and now it finally looks like we are being heard. We are so grateful to the parliamentarians who have shown responsibility and compassion in this matter, and we are happy that it now looks like there will be a majority for a compensation scheme," says Anders Helliksen, a survivor of the Kielland disaster and chairman of the Kielland Network.

The Kielland Network represents the survivors and bereaved families of Norway's largest industrial accident. 123 men died when the accommodation platform capsized in a storm at the Ekofisk field in the North Sea on March 27, 1980. 89 people survived under dramatic circumstances, most of them marked for life.

The Parliament's Labor and Social Affairs Committee has issued its recommendation on the matter, indicating that there are two proposals from the committee's minority. One of these proposals is expected to gain a majority when the Parliament discusses the case in plenary session. Both proposals involve the Parliament asking the government to establish a separate compensation scheme for the survivors and bereaved families of the Alexander L. Kielland disaster.

One of these proposals includes an additional request for the Office of the Auditor General to clarify the government's responsibility for the disaster and its lack of follow-up with the survivors and bereaved families. This clarification should be based on the information provided in the research report "Empirical Investigation of the Government's Follow-up of Responsibility after the Alexander L. Kielland Disaster," which was published in January this year. It is assumed that this new investigation will be conducted and presented by the end of 2025.

The committee's recommendation indicates that the majority in the committee (Arbeiderpartiet and Høyre) will not support the compensation proposal. They will ask the Office of the Auditor General for a new assessment of the case, based on the research report "Empirical Investigation of the Government's Follow-up of Responsibility after the Alexander L. Kielland Disaster." The question the committee majority wants to clarify is whether the research report from the University of Stavanger contains new elements that change the Auditor General's previous investigation from 2021.

The majority for compensation seems secured after Venstre's parliamentary group decided to support the proposal today. Previously, Rødt, SV, Sp, MDG, KrF, FrP, Pasientfokus, and Christian Tybring-Gjedde had already given their support – meaning a majority for the Kielland victims' case.

In recent years, new information and documentation have emerged, shedding light on how the authorities neglected their responsibilities in several areas. It has been revealed that there were inadequate regulations and unclear responsibilities, particularly regarding the approval and supervision of floating installations in the oil industry during the 1970s and 80s. Additionally, it has been shown that the authorities, contrary to expert advice, failed to care for and follow up with the survivors and bereaved families of the Kielland disaster. The prosecution authorities also failed in their duties after the disaster, with the Attorney General choosing to dismiss the case on demonstrably incorrect grounds. Altogether, these are serious governmental neglects that strengthen the case for providing compensation to the Kielland victims.

The Office of the Auditor General issued severe criticism of the authorities after investigating their handling of the Kielland disaster as recently as 2021. This criticism led to a unanimous Parliament strongly apologizing for the lack of care and follow-up for the survivors and bereaved families.

Contact person: Anders Helliksen, Chairman of the Kielland Network, Mobile 468 78 706

45 years since the Alexander Kielland disaster

Today we remember the 123 who never came home.They were not primarily 123, they were one and one.

                      A son

                      A husband

                      A father

                      A brother

                      A lover

                      An uncle

                      A nephew

                      A colleague

                      A best friend

And we think of the 89 who came home.

Those who had to continue a life after having lived through an inferno, a hell, a nightmare, a surreal armageddon, with horror scenes that haunt their dreams, and never give them inner peace.

So was all this just to be forgotten? For Norway, on the watch of the Labour Party, they were to proceed as quickly as possible with oil drilling northwards. Therefore, everything with Kielland had to be covered up, traces had to be hidden and archives had to be closed. The 212 oil workers on the platform of horror, and their families, had to be sacrificed for the Norwegian oil adventure.

Because no one has received any help from society in 45 years! Not the survivors, not the parents, the widows or the children. What is a lost childhood worth? Nothing? Will no one take responsibility?

For 45 years, the Kielland victims have stood all alone against society and oil capital. None of them have helped us.

Is this the country we are so proud of? Should the Kielland disaster continue to be our national, open wound?

We are fighting for truth, justice and reconciliation. Give us closure;give us inner peace!

Gudny Hansen, who sits on the board of the Kielland Network and is a bereaved child, gave a speech at the Broken Link memorial at Smiodden today.

Today marks 45 years since the Alexander Kielland disaster. A day that the survivors will never forget, a day that we bereaved will never forget.

We commemorate not only those who perished, but all those who were on board and fought for their lives.

I say disaster and not accident. In my mind, accident is something that cannot be avoided and, in my mind, this terrible event could have been avoided.

♡ The rig was to be towed ashore for its periodic inspection but was granted an exemption by Veritas.

♡ Doors were welded open and others could not be closed because cables were in the way.

♡ Drilling equipment had been placed on board when the rig was to be converted into an oil platform, so containers and heavy equipment that were not secured gained momentum and killed and maimed some of those who perished.

That is why I use the word disaster.

None of us survivors and bereaved will ever forget the pain that was inflicted on us 45 years ago.

Now I can only speak from my own experience, having lost my father when I was 10 years old, and he was never found. I came in contact with the Kielland victims in 2016 and have worked hard with several survivors and bereaved to get the truth out. I must admit that this has been a long and hard road and at times very depressing, but it has been 100% worth it. It is an incredibly good feeling to know that you are making a difference and can honour the lives of the 212 people who were on board and their families.

27th of March 2025

Opening of the exhibition DAD

It was a strong and emotional morning at the Norwegian Petroleum Museum, with the opening of the exhibition PAPPA and the conclusion of the Documentation Project on the Alexander Kielland Disaster, which has been financed by the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion.

It is a wonderful and moving exhibition about the children who were affected by the Kielland disaster.

The presentation was as follows:

• Björn Lindberg, acting director of the Norwegian Petroleum Museum, described the work that has been done in the documentation project over the past three years, and thanked everyone involved.
• Stavanger's mayor, Tormod W. Losnedal, described how the accident affected the city and contributed to better safety in the petroleum industry.
• Else M. Tungland, who has been the project manager for the documentation project, described how much it has meant to her to meet and hear the stories of the survivors and survivors. Between 3 and 400 children were affected by the disaster.
• Anders Helliksen, the chairman of the Kielland network, thanked everyone involved for the good cooperation, and thanked the minister for his intention to meet the Kielland network in Oslo next week.
• Merete Haslund, who lost her father, performed the song Pappa by Hans Inge Fagervik. He composed the song in 2016 based on children's stories in the Memory Bank at UiS.
• Minister of Energy Terje Aasland opened the exhibition PAPPA and received the final report from the documentation project.

20th of February 2025

PRESS RELEASE January 11, 2025

A negligence not to start an investigation for negligent homicide!

New research and previously unknown documentation reveal a number of serious negligence in the authorities' handling of the Alexander L. Kielland accident.

The government failed and the prosecution made grave mistakes. These are among the findings of Professor Marie Smith-Solbakken at the University of Stavanger and a team she led to investigate the Kielland disaster in 1980.

Eva Joly is part of the research team that is publishing its report today. She has experience as a judge, public prosecutor and investigator in France. She has also worked as a special advisor in the Ministry of Justice in Norway.

"The Attorney General's decision not to pursue the criminal aspects of this disaster is incomprehensible. It was a negligence not to open an investigation for negligent homicide," states Eva Joly.

The findings give the survivors and bereaved of the largest industrial accident in Norwegian history new hope for justice and compensation:

• The prosecution authorities neglected solid documentation indicating that the accident should have been investigated as negligent homicide.

• Key documents after the accident were unavailable to the investigation commission, and documentation disappeared.

• In a government conference shortly after the accident, a document acknowledged that the level of safety in the oil industry was not at an acceptable level, but after five days the document was replaced by another in which the criticism of safety had been removed.

  
  

The report "Empirical study of the authorities' follow-up of responsibility after the Alexander L. Kielland accident" is part of the documentation project - a project adopted by the Storting in 2021 with the Norwegian Petroleum Museum as the responsible party.

Violation of rules hastened the disaster

"We have gained access to documentation that was previously unknown, and we have confirmed that important documents have disappeared," says Professor Marie Smith-Solbakken.

A key finding concerns the State Attorney and the Attorney General's failure to process a police report from 1983, which revealed, including photographic evidence, that several doors and bulkheads that were supposed to be closed were open at the time of the accident.

"Had these doors been closed, as required by the regulations, the rig would have stayed afloat for around 90 minutes longer than it actually did. Then far more people would have very likely survived this accident," says Marie Smith-Solbakken.

The researchers also point out that there are several other factors that may have affected the rig's stability and thus contributed to it capsizing so quickly. One is that much of the deck cargo was unsecured. The second, and very serious, is that a lot of equipment had been brought on board the rig to convert it from a living platform back to what it was originally designed to be – a drilling rig. Here, hoses and wires went through the door openings – openings that were supposed to be closed. In some of the openings, the alarms that were supposed to alert the control room to illegally open doors had also been deactivated.

Human rights violations

Eva Joly finds it incomprehensible that the state attorney ignored the fact that doors and hatches were left open in violation of safety regulations. This, along with deactivated alarms and a number of other objectionable circumstances, should have been investigated as negligence, and thus as negligent homicide.

"The victims of the Kielland accident were deprived of the right to full justice, as those responsible were not brought to justice," says Joly.

— That people in a deep life crisis are almost pressured by a multinational oil company to accept symbolic compensation on the condition that they will not pursue the case legally is undignified. That the survivors and bereaved were deprived of the opportunity for a fair trial is a clear violation of the European Convention on Human Rights, Joly argues.

Important documents disappeared

Another critical issue the researchers have uncovered is the lack of investigation into possible evidence loss. Key documents, essential for shedding light on responsibility and safety culture, remained inaccessible to the investigation commission. These include the logbook for the relevant period and the correspondence between the captains and the shipping company. In a meeting with the investigation commission on 30 March 1980 – just three days after the accident – ​​Stavanger Drilling confirmed that deck logs had been sent ashore earlier on the day of the accident and that they could be made available to the commission. It later emerged that several deck logs were missing and never recovered. These are matters that should have been investigated, according to the report.

The rig not approved

Anders Helliksen survived the Kielland accident under dramatic circumstances. He is the leader of the Kielland network representing the survivors and bereaved, and he is a member of the steering group for the documentation project.

— I am impressed by the thorough work the researchers have done, and I am grateful that the Storting, in addition to regretting the injustice that has befallen the Kielland victims, also allocated funds for the documentation project, says Anders Helliksen.

— Now this work has shed new light on the case and reinforced the criticism that both we and the Office of the Auditor General have made. We have specifically noted new documentation that shows that the rig was not approved as a housing platform. Our hope is that we will receive our rightful compensation, says Anders Helliksen. He succeeded Kian Reme as head of the Kielland network. Reme died in July last year and Helliksen adds:

— We have much to thank Kian for, and we on the board have promised each other to continue the work in his spirit for reconciliation, truth and justice.

The Norwegian Petroleum Museum is responsible for the Documentation Project adopted and financed by the Storting. The research report from the University of Stavanger – Empirical study of the authorities' follow-up of Responsibility after the Alexander L. Kielland accident – ​​is part of the documentation project. The report has been prepared by Marie Smith-Solbakken, Eva Joly, Frode Fanebust and Tor Gunnar Tollaksen.